California’s largest wildfire spreads quickly, threatening thousands of homes

A massive wildfire in California is spreading rapidly, burning more than 20 square kilometers per hour, threatening thousands of homes and forcing people to flee.

More than 130 homes have been destroyed by the Park Fire, the state’s largest wildfire so far this year, which burned 475 square miles (1,243 square kilometers) as of Friday evening.

The storm began in Butte County on Wednesday and has since moved quickly north and east.

While no deaths have been reported, the dramatic scale of the blaze has been compared by firefighters to the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed 11,000 homes in nearby Paradise.

Cal Fire Chief Billy See said, “There’s a tremendous amount of fuel out there and it’s going to continue to move at this rapid pace.”

A 42-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the fire, after he reportedly pushed a burning car into a ravine in Chico and then fled.

Carli Parker is one of hundreds of people who have left their homes in Chico.

The mother of five had to leave her home twice before due to fires.

She said: “I think I felt like I was in danger because the police had come to our house because we had signed up for an early evacuation warning. They ran to their car after telling us to evacuate ourselves and they never came back.”

There were 110 active fires, covering an area of 7,250 square kilometers, spread across the United States on Friday, the National Interagency Fire Center said.

In the East OregonA pilot was found dead in a small tanker plane that crashed while fighting one of the many fires spreading across several western states.

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Oregon is currently battling the nation’s largest fire, the Durkee Fire, which together with the Cow Fire has burned nearly 600 square miles (1,630 square kilometers).

Officials said the situation remains unpredictable and was only 20% under control on Friday.

Fast moving flame

In rural areas IdahoOn Friday, lightning sparked a fast-moving fire that spread across 30 square miles (80 square kilometers), destroying homes in eastern Washington.

Meanwhile, in the Canadian Rockies town JasperIn Alberta, authorities warned of a “wall of fire” as flames reached 100 metres high on Friday and spread over three miles in less than 30 minutes.

It is feared that half the buildings in the popular tourist town, which attracts more than two million visitors a year, have been destroyed and 25,000 people have been displaced.

Alberta is currently experiencing approximately 176 wildfires, 50 of which are out of control.